Saturday, January 05, 2013

A leader with the Turkish LGBT group KAOS, Ali Erol, issued an alert about a newly released assessment by the European Union regarding Turkey's request to join the EU because the report highlights the country's deplorable queer human rights record.

Ali writes that the Minister of EU Affairs, speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and their ruling AK Party, dismissed the report as "subjective, biased, unfounded, and contained bigoted attitudes. The EU has damaged its own credibility with the Turkey report".

KAOS pointed out that "although the government of Turkey claims they have prepared their own report that allegedly takes into account the EU’s previous criticisms and recommendations; it is sadly understood our government doesn't take into account the EU Commission’s yearly repetitions for elimination of discrimination against LGBTs in Turkey."

Excerpted from the EU 2012 Turkish progress report:The
relevant parliamentary committee amended the draft to remove references to discrimination
on grounds of sexual identity or sexual orientation. The current legal framework is not in line
with the EU acquis. There is discrimination against individuals along ethnic, religious, sexual
identity and other lines . . . However lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) persons continued to suffer discrimination, intimidation and were the
victims of violent crime. LGBT employees and civil servants have been fired on the grounds
of sexual orientation. Other reported spheres of discrimination against LGBT individuals
include access to housing and to health services (especially in the case of transgender
persons). Violations of the right to life, torture, ill-treatment and cases of sexual assault that occurred
against LGBTs in Turkey during 2011 have been reported . . . Articles of the Turkish Criminal Code on ‘public exhibitionism’ and ‘offences against public
morality’ and also articles of the Law on Misdemeanours were widely used to discriminate
against and to impose fines on LGBT people. The repeated application of the principle of
‘unjust provocation’ in favour of perpetrators of crimes against transsexuals and transvestites
is a major concern. The
internal rules of the Turkish armed forces continue to define homosexuality as a
‘psychosexual’ illness and to declare homosexuals unfit for military service.
Substantial government efforts are still needed to effectively protect vulnerable groups,
including women, children, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals from
societal abuse, discrimination and violence.